Wednesday, January 30, 2013

After having this page up for a few days, I've had some time to do some reflecting and thinking about what exactly I want this page to be. However, since you all are my loyal readers, feel free to tell me you want more of one thing or less of another, and I will take your suggestions into consideration :)

The Secret World of Alex Algebra does not exist to post every freebie and deal on the web. It does not exist to post every cute Etsy full of kawaii that exists, or to talk about every sweepstakes going on. I'm one guy, specifically one guy with a part time job, a non-profit organization, and a chronic illness that causes a lot of fatigue and brain/body non-cooperation situations, so I can't be the be-all, end-all of any of those things. There are plenty of folks out there already doing just that.

What I can promise you, however, is an open invitation to my Secret World - all the things I love, compiled into one place, for you all to enjoy or take advantage of. These are the things I wish I could talk to my friends about, but feel like a nerd, and the things that I do when I'm home alone vegging out; I indulge in my freebie habit, watch stuff on Netflix, and look at pictures of Japanese-inspired jewelry I wish I owned (and occasionally buy some ;) ). I do art projects when I have the energy, I travel when I can afford it, and do my best to do all of these things with the planet and my fellow inhabitants in mind by taking the path with the smallest footprint within my means.

I can also promise you that the things I post will be personal and worth your time to read. I don't want to post things just because I'm going to make 7 cents off of it, without any story or reasoning or commentary to justify its place in my blog. I don't want to pitch products to you that I wouldn't purchase or use myself, and I don't want to be a whore for companies that I don't like. I will talk about products, and sometimes I might make that 7 cents off of you clicking a link and signing up for something, but it's because I truly believe in the product. I also will only post deals and freebies that I have already done or will be doing myself, to stay true to this promise.

I want readers, of course, but I only want happy ones that are excited to see what I have to post next!

What are you most excited to see from The Secret World? What has been your favorite post or posts so far?

Would you love to get free Redbox movies too? There are two easy steps to follow and I guarantee you will get 1-3 free movies a month.

Sign up today and get on their mailing list! They send out emails once every month or so with a free movie code, and more often with 50 cents off of a rental (making the movie 70 cents - not too bad, but also not free.)

Text LOVE to 727272 to join the Redbox Text Club! This is basically the best thing ever. I get several free movies a month, and they never seem to get mad that I never give money. Amazing.

Can I just tell you how much I love Redbox? I love Redbox a lot. Why? Because I never pay for it. (Read more here to find out how you, too, can watch new movies for free!)

Tonight's free show was the movie Ted, starring Marky Mark, the hot girl from The '70s Show, and Peter Griffin. In case the title doesn't ring a bell, it's the movie where the titular character is teddy bear who comes to life and is a drunken, weed-smoking best friend to Johnny, played by Mark Wahlberg. Johnny is 35 and trying to get his act together to keep his long-time girlfriend, Lori (Mila Kunis), to stay with him. Hilarity ensues, with some touching moments. Supposedly, anyway.

This could have been a great movie, you know, for people that are into stupid stoner comedies (such as myself). Unfortunately, it feel pretty flat in a barrage of "jokes" that were every -ist in the book. If you're not a straight white cisgender male, well, Seth MacFarlane (the director) made sure to make fun of you at some point. There were racist stereotypes, "no homo" comments, and they managed to fit in some body-shaming and ableism in there as well, just for kicks.

The boyfriend and I had a chat about it after the show. He's more inclined to let things slide in the name of a good film than I am, so we didn't quite agree on this one. He's bothered by the -isms "humor" like me, but he's not as sensitive to it. I spend a whole lot of my free time working towards equality for anyone and everyone, so I'm definitely more apt to pick up on these things and find them unfunny.

Here's the thing, y'all: Why do we need to make jokes at anyone's expense when there are fart jokes in the world?! Seriously! If you want some good ol' lowbrow humor, throw in some dick jokes, some fart jokes, and some silly physical comedy and you're all set. How about some good puns? The Brits love those, so should we! I'm not trying to be any sort of puritanical here (trust me, I have the mouth and mind of a sailor sometimes), just compassionate and kind. I'm gay, so when I see jokes that target gay people in movies or on television, I feel bad about myself. It's not that I'm going to go hide in my bed for days, but I feel bad because I know that I'm a part of a demographic because of how my brain works that puts me at a disadvantage in society, and that people will continue to discriminate against because they see gay jokes in movies and on television and think it's okay.

It's also not okay for people to joke about these things ironically. If you make an ironic racist joke, you're still making a racist joke! It's still not funny! This post on Jezebel talks about "hipster racism" (AKA racism) quite well.

In conclusion, Seth MacFarlane, please get with the times. Gay jokes, racism, calling someone a retard, and body-shaming fat people aren't funny anymore. Find some new material. Two paws down.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

I always say, "If it's free, it's for me," but the truth is, it's not always. I have to skip out on a lot of really yummy looking freebies because of my strict diet and health conditions, and it's really a bummer! Today's my lucky day, though - FREE VITAMINS!

Check this out: Vplenish is a vitamin powder that you put into anything that gives you vitamins and supposedly has no taste! We'll see about that once I get the sample (spoiler: there will be a review), but hey, it's the future, anything can happen.

Well, my boyfriend, bless him, is a bit of a snore machine. One morning, I woke up before him and heard someone actually sawing logs outside of our house. Between him and the chainsaw, it was hard to say which was worse! I definitely understood why someone came up with that phrase. :p

Luckily, Breathe Right is offering up a free sample and coupon for their product! For those of you who don't know, Breathe Right Strips are these really dorky looking tabs that adhere to your nose like a stiff Band-Aid. You put one on before you go to bed, and it opens up your nostrils so you can breathe in more oxygen as you sleep. They actually really help, if you don't mind the look and some glue on your nose in the morning. It's a small price to pay for a decent night's sleep for you and anyone that might be within hearing range of you.

Too sexy, too sexy!

To order yours today, head on over to the Breathe Right website and sign up! Offer available while supplies last.

Do you snore? What do you do to ease the pain for those around you? Have you tried Breathe Right strips?

So, Safeway is running a promotion where you get a $5 Catalina (a coupon for your next shopping trip, used on any item) when you buy 3 Hallmark cards. The only stipulation is that they cannot be the $0.99 cards.

Makin' dough, makin' dough!

Lucky for us savvy shoppers, Hallmark has a printable coupon available on their Facebook for $2 off any 3 cards! If you happen to have cut out the double-coupon coupon from this week's Safeway ad, you can save an additional $0.50.

+ $5.00 Catalina = you MAKE $1.53 and go spend it on overpriced organic veggies! Or...whatever. That's what I'm going to do ;)

So now, not only do I have an extra $1.53 for veggies to make me healthy, I have a belated Christmas gift thank you card, a birthday card for my buddy, and a Valentine's Day card for my Nana (cue: awwwww...). Today rocks!

Hey all!
There's a new site starting up called Viraliti that is going to be a way to monetize your Pinterest account. How cool is that? They are just doing beta signups right now, but you can sign up here.

Would you like to promote great content generated by experts on Pinterest?

Wouldn't you want to earn some easy bucks while pinning interesting stuff on Pinterest?

Not interested in making money but want to influence your followers about latest products and brands?

If your answer to any of the above questions is yes, then Viraliti is the answer for you. Viraliti is the adwords for Social Media. Viraliti works cost per click model so you can earn money for every click that your sponsored pins receive.

Everything at Dollar Tree is $1, and this coupon is for $1 off, which makes it free for you and me! Head on over to coupons.com to print it up right now!

I was also scoping out the Garnier Fructis website, and I am pleased to announce that they have recently taken several steps towards being more green and eco-friendly! YAY! <3 Now I'm even more excited about this deal.

Friday, January 25, 2013

Oh my gosh, you guys, I am so excited right now. Like, unnaturally excited because Whole Foods is doing a sale tomorrow morning for 20% off all supplements!! Do you understand the amazingness of that? It is amazing.

It's an early bird sale, which means it's only going on between 8AM and noon, tomorrow, January 26, only. Check to make sure your local Whole Foods is having the same sale by looking on their website.

This is early bird is going to get hella healthy worms.

Let me break this down for you a little bit, and maybe you'll understand why I'm so, so stoked for this deal. I have this stupid health condition that is basically uncurable by conventional medicine, but can be slowly cured through the use of many supplements and a very strict diet. I take about 25 pills a day, and have to pay for them all out of pocket because they are things like vitamins and herbs that you can't get through insurance pharmacies.

Most bottles cost somewhere between $15-30 a piece, and I have to get them 1-2x a month. With 20% off, I will be saving $3-6 each, times 10 bottles equals a savings of $30-60, probably more on the $60 end! I don't know about you, but with my budget, $60 is nothing to sneeze at!

Thursday, January 24, 2013

If there's one thing I love, it's thrifting! I am a hoarder waiting to happen, so I have to be very careful not to go out to thrift stores often, and not to spend much money if I do. I am notorious for carrying twenty things around the store with me, "just to think about it," then putting back the majority of them. Once I realize I don't really need yet another craft project that will never see completion, it's a little easier to set things down.

This last trip, there were some amazing finds that I somehow managed to pass up.

First of all, this sweater:

Kawaii, ne?

Somehow, this sweater called out to me from across the store, but alas, we were not meant to be. I'm a pretty small guy, too small to fit into men's smalls half the time, but this women's sweater was TINY! My wrists are practically sticks, yet I still managed to get my arms stuck in this thing while trying it on in the middle of the store. (Pro tip: Don't do that.) It was quite an adventure acting casual while trying to get out of the Chinese-Finger-Death-Trap-like arms of this beautiful thing. I almost cried when I realized there was no way I could comfortably wear it. Le sigh.

Next up:

Remember these?

A Fisher Price record player! I totally had one of these as a kid. I would listen to these little 45s that had matching storybooks all day long. My favorites were one featuring Betty Boop, and of course, all of the Disney ones. "Turn the page, when you hear the chimes ring, like this!"
Then, there was this gem:

Somebody took a lot of time to draw this.

I...there are no words. I stared at this for a good minute before I could even get it together to take a photo and post it up on Instagram. I so, so, so wanted to buy it, but I didn't!

So what did I end up with? Three items, the game Scene It?, because I've always wanted it, and the following two items:

I love my life.

Yes, I am now the proud owner of a shiny, glittery blue belt (and I only bought the blue, not the pink or green that matched, go me!), and a kawaii adorable teddy bear plate! Because my diet is boring and crappy thanks to chronic illness, sometimes I just have to put my food on a really cute plate to convince myself it's worth eating. Don't judge me.

So...$7.49 later, I have some fun new presents for myself, and I also remembered why I never let myself go into Goodwill.

Have you scored any good thrift store finds lately? I want pictures! Tell me about them!

As far back as I can remember, I have been fascinated by coupons. Even as a kid, I would help my mom clip them from the paper, grab them from the flashing displays at the store, and peel them off of boxes of food that we liked to buy. I was such a nerd, I even created a spreadsheet to track all of the coupons in the newspaper for a month because I wanted to practice making spreadsheets for my computer class in fifth grade. (Yes, I was that kid...)

Flash forward to my adulthood. I use coupons sometimes, probably more than most folks, but I don't have any strategy to it and only get a good deal once in a blue moon.

I have wanted to start really couponing for awhile, but whenever I watch that Extreme Couponing show or look at couponing websites, it seems like it's all for junk and crap I can't eat or would never buy. I'm on a severely restricted diet that consists of about 80% organic veggies and the other 20% organic eggs and a couple of organic, diet-approved grains, so basically, they don't make coupons for my kind of food.

Nevertheless, I recently took an online couponing class from Pretty Frugal Diva. It was pretty rad and I learned a lot, but ultimately still felt like couponing wasn't for people like me. It was for "normal" folks without a million issues, folks with giant families and houses, and folks that really like pasta and soda.

I was watching Extreme Couponing the other day on Netflix, however, and still got inspired. It looked like so much fun to get all of that stuff for free, and I thought maybe I could donate it all to a shelter or something! I googled "couponing portland" to see what I could find in my area, and I found this amazing website: Frugal Living NW!

Frugal Living NW not only lists all of the deals at the stores in Portland in a very easy to understand fashion, they do classes! Free ones! And there just happened to be one coming up this week, in my neighborhood. If that's not fate, I don't know what is.

So tonight, I trooped on over to TaborSpace, expecting a room full of old ladies, and I was blown away. There were people of all ages, all types, and I was not the only younger guy in the room!

Although I had heard about half of the information before online and on TV, it was a completely different experience watching a living, breathing person stand in front of me and say it out loud. Angela Davis, the founder of Frugal Living NW, is a couponing goddess. I could see that yes, this woman coupons successfully, and it is possible - it's not just something crazy people do on TV. Normal people do it, too, and everyone can coupon in a way that works for them and their lifestyle, buying products that they use.

Know when to use coupons: Only use coupons when there is a store sale and you have a manufacturer's coupon, so that you will actually get a great deal. The goal is to pay less for a name brand than a generic kind at WinCo or other discount stores.

Stock up when the price is right: Most products go on sale every 10-16 weeks, so the goal is to stock up enough of something to last you until the next time it goes on sale. For example, if you eat a box of pasta a week, buy ten boxes during a deal, and you'll be set until the next one comes around.

Get enough coupons to build a pantry: The idea is to "shop" from your own pantry each day, instead of having to go to the store and pay full price when you want something. Therefore, it's best to get several copies of each coupon insert so you can take full advantage of a deal.

Use the right resources: There are many websites, such as Frugal Living NW, that list the deals for each store in an area each week. If you are not from the Northwest, check around, I am sure there's a site for your area!

Organize your coupons to save time and money: She does "no-clip" couponing, which is amazing and I didn't think it was possible! She just has a small filing crate where she put the inserts in for each week - one file per week. Then, when she finds a deal online, they are usually listed by date (for example: "Use $1.50/2 coupon from 11/11 RP insert"), so she can just go right to that weeks file, find the coupon, then clip it only if she is going to actually use it. She has a small coupon organizer she takes with her to the store with just the coupons she needs. SO EASY!! Who knew??

Some ideas to help you get started:

I think the thing that stuck with me the most, was that I can coupon for things like toilet paper, paper towels, and toothbrushes - things that don't have to be organic and overpriced like everything else I have to use :p I can save money by using coupons and stocking up on those, and use that money towards my organic veggies! How cool is that?

As soon as I got home, I looked through this weeks ads and coupons and set up an organizational system for myself. I'm very excited to get started!

For more information on how to coupon, check out Frugal Living NW's Ultimate Guide to Couponing in the NW. It's an 11-part online class that is chock full of tips to help you get saving!

Do you coupon? Tell me some newbie tips or about your latest, greatest deal!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Hello world!
Here I am, Alex Algebra, off on another brave adventure into the cyberworld!

Although I have a couple of small journals and blogs around the interwebs, I decided, after being inspired by so many amazing blogs that are out there, that I too have a voice, and that voice is important, even if it's just talking about reality TV and jewelry featuring desserts. Therefore, I should make a blog to blab about it!

I'm nervous and I don't really know how well this is going to go, but we'll see! I am hoping to post about anything and everything, but most notably: